Post from Hannibal Tabu

I’ve had some interesting chances to consider appreciating people. The legendary Dwayne McDuffie, best known for his work on animated shows like Ben 10 or Justice League passed away, and I realized I never let him know how much I appreciated him while he was here. A young woman I know, someone I worked with and who dated an associate of mine, a bubbly and indefatigable spirit, took her life at age 25, shocking literally everyone who knew her.

Marvel editor Tom Brevoort has been spearheading a hashtag called #whiletheylive on his Twitter feed, to not wait so long and let people know how much they matter pre-humously. It all reminded me how I started writing pieces to honor poets around me who really mattered, who really deserved to be celebrated and never forgotten. I’ve had this first line for maybe nine years, but now I finally have made it into a tribute that I hope is worthy of her (before, of course, I get a chance to workshop it, as we believe in the importance of qualified peer review).

Without further ado …

She is leading edge to thunder.

Blunt impact of sky rolling across foundations,
her voice heralding revelations.

Headwrapped or fresh shaven,
decked in fatigues or immaculate in white,
she’s elected representative
of hoodrats who know they can do better,
brush stroking kaleidoscopic intimacy on to canvas,
capturing vibrancy on SD cards
writing her way into forever.
Gestures fill sky with rumbling as she goes.

One sleepy-eyed neck roll
turns down home grandmomma sayings into sanctity.
Can’t call her that
high school yearbook name,
woman she is don’t fit into
that child’s painted on, switchin’ ass jeans.
She heralds Wiz musical brand new day,
Choreography
and everything.

When clouds roll and thunder approaches,
I ain’t scared.
Storms signal tomorrow,
getting ready to grow,
Jaha is their poster girl.
Sure as throwin’ chicken bones on a hundred bucks,
Sistergirl struts ahead of cumulonimbus
in all of the goodness of being all good.

“While They Live: Jaha Zainabu”
By Hannibal Tabu